Song of the Spirits (31 page)

To her surprise, the twins were waiting for Elaine at Helen’s hotel. And yet they had both still been dancing at the wedding when Elaine and Thomas had left.

“Daph… er… your grandmother thought that we should come home early to take care of you, Miss O’Keefe,” Mary twittered.

“Someone has to help you get your dress off,” Laurie added. “And help with your hair.”

Thomas was not pleased and tried to rebuff them. “Thank you very much, but I would be happy to help my wife myself.”

But he had not counted on the obstinacy of the twins—who had, moreover, received clear instructions from Daphne O’Rourke.

“No, no, Mr. Sideblossom, that wouldn’t be decent,” Mary protested. “A lady’s husband must wait until she is ready. We have some nice hot chocolate for you right here.”

Thomas gnashed his teeth and kept control of himself only with great effort. “Why don’t you bring me a whiskey.”

Laurie shook her head. “No hard alcohol under Mrs. O’Keefe’s roof, only wine if you must. And we have a bottle here, but it’s for later. You can have a drink with Miss O’Keefe when—”

“Before or after…” Mary giggled.

Thomas clenched his hands into fists. Who did they think they were, ordering him around? First those flutes on the riverbank—the damned Maori!—which had awoken these feelings in him, these memories. And now these wenches. What did it matter to them what he did with his wife? And Elaine even appeared pleased about the delay.

“I’ll be right in, dearest,” she said and happily following the twins upstairs. Thomas sat down in a chair and forced himself to be patient. Starting tomorrow, no one would stand in his way.

Mary and Laurie made a grand production out of undressing Elaine, loosening her hair, and brushing it. Finally, Mary helped her into
a richly embroidered silk nightgown while Laurie filled a princely goblet with wine.

“Here, drink up, Miss O’Keefe!” she ordered. “It’s excellent wine, a wedding present from Daphne.”

“Daphne sent you?” Elaine was suddenly nervous. Until that moment, she had believed that Helen had prepared this surprise.

Mary nodded. “Yes, Miss O’Keefe. And she told us you should drink at least one glass of wine first and then another with him before you… well, you know. A sip of wine makes it go more easily and nicely.”

Elaine knew that as a lady, she should have protested, and she had never needed alcohol to feel safe and comfortable in William’s arms. But Daphne undoubtedly knew what she was talking about. She politely drank up the wine, which had a sweet taste. Elaine smiled.

“Please tell Thomas…”

“That you’re ready!” the twins said practically in chorus. “We’ll do that, miss. Good luck!”

Thomas did not want any wine. Elaine had thought it would be lovely to present herself to him as a Roman goddess of love would have, in her becoming nightgown, her hair flowing down her back, and a chalice of wine in her hand to offer her beloved. But Thomas pushed the glass away—any harder and he would have slapped it from her hand.

“What’s this all about, Elaine? Are you playing a little game here? Lie down in bed like an obedient wife. I know you’re pretty. You don’t need to show yourself off like a whore.”

Elaine gulped. She stepped over to the bed like a whipped dog and lay down on her back. The sight seemed to please Thomas.

“That’s better. Wait while I take off my clothes. You could have helped me, of course, but not when you’re already half-naked. That wouldn’t be ladylike. Now wait.”

Thomas took off his clothes unhurriedly, laying his things neatly on a chair. But Elaine could hear his breathing quicken, and she was
startled when she saw his member after he had removed his pants. Inger had said it would swell… but that much? Oh God, it would surely hurt when he pushed that into her. Elaine flinched, turned onto her side and scooted a little away from him. Thomas glared at her. He was breathing even more quickly. He seized her shoulder and pulled her sharply back into the right position. Then he threw himself on top of her.

Elaine wanted to scream as he thrust himself into her, but he covered her lips with his mouth. His tongue and member pushed into her at the same time. Elaine almost bit down in terror and pain. She whimpered as he began moving inside her, moaning with pleasure. As his movements grew faster and his breath ragged, Elaine could barely suppress her pain.

“Ah, that was good…” He said nothing more as he caught his breath.

“But…” Elaine mustered her courage as the pain abated. “Don’t you want… don’t you have to kiss beforehand?”

“I don’t have to do anything,” Thomas said coolly. “But if you want.”

He only needed a little time to recover; then he threw himself back on her. This time, he kissed her—first on the mouth, just as deeply and forcefully as before, then on her neck and breasts, which hurt because he bit her more than kissed her. It felt so very different than it had with William. Elaine seized up this time more than before. She groaned in pain as he pushed into her again, and he didn’t stop until he finally released into her. There was fluid again, as there had been first time. Elaine finally understood what the whores washed off with vinegar when they were forced to make love on unsuitable days. And the thought of a little vinegar, or soap and water at least, sounded very attractive to her just then. She felt sore, dirty, and disgraced as she lay rigidly next to Thomas, who soon fell asleep. Trembling, Elaine got out of bed.

The bathroom lay right next to her room. She hoped that no one else would need it; most of the hotel’s guests were surely still at the wedding. At
her
wedding.

To Elaine’s surprise, there were lamps burning in the room, and the twins were waiting for her with two buckets of hot water and scented soap.

Elaine burst into tears when she saw them. So that had been Daphne’s wedding present. She did not have to bear this all alone. And the twins obviously knew what they were doing. For once, they did not twitter, and instead spoke quietly and comfortingly to her as they removed her nightgown and washed her body.

“You poor thing! It will still hurt tomorrow, but then it’ll get better quickly.”

With a sponge, Laurie gently rubbed the spots that Thomas’s hungry sucking and biting had left behind, what he had called “kisses.”

“Is it always like that?” Elaine sobbed. “If it’s always like that, then I’d rather die.”

Mary pulled her close. “Of course not. You get used to it.”

Elaine remembered hearing that Daphne had never made the twins get used to anything like this.

Laurie gave her some more wine; indeed, Daphne had sent several bottles. Elaine drank it, thirsty as never before. She had heard you could drink to forget, but what good what that do? What had just happened would repeat itself again the next night.

“Say thank you to Daphne,” Elaine whispered when she finally left the twins and returned, laden with fear, her heart pounding, to the room where her husband slept.

“What we should we tell Daphne?” Laurie asked her sister as the women picked up their things. “He wasn’t very nice to her.”

Mary shrugged. “True. But how many of them are? Daphne didn’t ask if he was nice. She wanted to know if he…” She went quiet with embarrassment.

Laurie understood without the need for words. “You’re right. It just hurts me to see Miss O’Keefe so. But Daphne doesn’t need to worry herself about it. As far as anyone can tell right now, he’s normal.”

E
laine was very relieved that she did not have to ride the next day. In addition to the fact that her lower body hurt unbearably, she had slept poorly, rigid with tension, on the edge of the bed. She ached all over, and her face was bloated and blotchy from crying. Thomas did not comment on her appearance, however. Nor did Zoé, with whom Elaine would be sharing a carriage for the next few days and a house thereafter. Elaine had been hoping for a bit of kindness from her—the young woman had to know what she had been through the previous night, after all—but Zoé didn’t say a word. And there was no one else Elaine could confide in.

The Sideblossoms wanted to get an early start. Elaine only had a chance to embrace her parents briefly. Naturally, Fleurette could see that something was amiss, but there was no time for questions. Only Helen had a moment alone with her when Elaine helped carry the breakfast dishes into the kitchen. She immediately recognized Elaine’s stiff, painful movements.

“Was it bad, child?” she asked sympathetically.

“It was terrible.”

Helen nodded understandingly. “I know, dear. But, believe me, it gets better. And you’re young. You’ll get pregnant quickly. Then maybe he’ll leave you in peace.”

Elaine spent the whole of that first morning in the carriage making hectic calculations to determine whether the experience the night before could lead to the conception of a child. Everything inside her
bristled at the thought that she could have conceived a child that night. In the end, though, she calmed herself. Her last menstruation had been only four days before and, according to Inger, conceiving at this time was not possible.

Although Zoé’s chaise was quite well cushioned, the roads around Lake Wakatipu were in poor condition. Elaine groaned every time they lurched across one of the countless deep potholes. She tried desperately to start a conversation with Zoé, but the young woman did not seem to have any interests other than housekeeping and the various luxury objects with which she had decorated Lionel Station. She spoke at length about the furniture and drapes, but never thought to ask about Elaine’s taste or preference. After a few hours, Elaine became determined not to let her husband limit her to the house. She would perish of boredom in Zoé’s company. She would have to assert herself and establish her role on the sheep farm. Her grandmother Gwyneira had done it, after all. Lost in thought, she stroked Callie, who could tell that her mistress was in need of comfort.